Method of loading turkeys and the like



June 25, 1968 w. H. JEROME METHOD OF LOADING TURKEYS AND THE LIKE 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 14, 1967 MYEMT cw wailacewrome U 6 ma June25, 1968 w. H. JEROME 3,389,690

METHOD OF LOADING TURKEYS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 14, 1967 2Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,389,690 METHOD OF LOADING TURKEYSAND THE LIKE Wallace H. Jerome, Jerome Foods, 34 N. 7th St., Barron,Wis. 54812 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 574,078

Aug. 22, 1966. This application Sept. 14, 1967, Ser.

3 Claims. (Cl. 119-82) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method of loadingturkeys and the like with a conveyor comprising two interfittingU-shaped troughs providing an enclosed passage with a conveyor beltsupported on the lower trough to carry poultry through the passage and ahold-down belt supported on the upper trough to cooperate with the lowerbelt in carrying poultry through the passage. The upper trough issupported for selective adjustment relative to the lower trough to varythe height of the passage and the hold-down belt is driven at a fasterspeed than the conveyor belt to maintain the poultry in sittingpositions. The chute is supported on a frame for selective adjustment ofthe height of the upper or discharge end with a cable and drumarrangement, and an operator platform is pivoted on the chute adjacentthe discharge end and maintained horizontal during adjustment of theangle of the chute. Pivoted on the chute above the discharge end andextending outwardly therefrom is an angularly adjustable grid coveringthe path of poultry leaving the chute. The passage is dividedlongitudinally into two sections by a central plate. Turkeys are loadedinto the lower end of the chute, urged into a sitting position by thehold-down belt, and maintained quietly in the sitting position as aresult of the unbalancing effect of this belt.

Background of the invention This is a continuation-in-part of mycopending application Ser. No. 574,078, filed Aug. 22, 1966, and relatesto a method of loading live turkeys and the like into vehicles forshipment and, more particularly, to a method of loading domesticatedfowl which are easily frightened during handling and are difiicult tohandle and likely to injure themselves when frightened. Turkeys,chickens and other fowl have been loaded into and out of vehicles withpower-operated conveyors, but prior conveyors and loading methods usedfor this purpose have not been completely satisfactory because of theease with which the fowl, especially turkeys, become frightened and tendto panic and injure themselves or jam the conveyor.

Summary of the invention The general object of the present invention isto provide a new and improved poultry-loading method for conveying thebirds more rapidly, effectively, and with less likelihood of injury thanwith prior methods, and, more specifically, is to convey the birds fromthe ground to the cages of the shipping vehicle with a minimum of panicand struggling, thereby reducing the likelihood of bruising of the birdsand also simplifying the transfer of the birds from the loader into thecages. A related object is to maintain the birds quietly in sitting orsquatting positions during such conveying and thereby render the birdshelpless and virtually unable to struggle.

Brief description of the drawings taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

3,389,690 Patented June 25, 1968 ice FIGURE 1 is a side elevational viewof one suitable loader for practicing the present invention, theposition of a shipping vehicle during loading being indicated in brokenlines.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view takensubstantially along the line 2''2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation taken from the opposite side of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view takensubstantially along the line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the belts and the drivemechanism therefor, and the passage divider.

Shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration is a device 10 forloading turkeys and the like into a truck 11 (FIG. 1) of the typecommonly used in the trade and having several tiers of compartments orcages 12 on each side with a door on each cage through which the turkeysare loaded. One such truck has five tiers of five cages each on eachside, a total of fifty cages capable of holding about 800 birds. In viewof the fact that a single processor may handle several million turkeyseach year, it will be evident that the loading of turkeys from the fieldinto trucks is a tremendous job, particularly if performed manually ashas been the usual practice in the turkey industry.

Other methods using automatic poultry loaders have been used (forexample, those shown in United States Patents Nos. 2,840,041 and3,103,915) but have not solved the problems in the turkey industry,perhaps because of the characteristics of turkeys and their tendency topanic and bruise or otherwise injure themselves when frightened. Ingeneral, such prior methods and the method constituting the presentinvention use an inclined, covered chute 13 mounted on a frame 14 withthe lower or receiving end of the chute adjacent the ground 15 and theupper, discharge end of the chute at the level of the cage 12 to beloaded. An endless conveyor belt 17 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 5) is trained aroundhorizontal pulleys 18 and 19 adjacent the opposite ends of the chute sothat the upper run of the belt forms the floor of the chute. With thisarrangement, poultry placed on the belt at the lower end will be carriedupwardly through the chute and discharged adjacent the cage to befilled.

The present invention contemplates a new and improved method using aloader of the foregoing general type for more rapid and effectiveloading of poultry and particularly adapted for the handling of turkeys,the birds being received and carried in a novel manner that reduces thetendency to struggle in the chute and as they are discharged therefrom.For these purposes, the turkeys are separated and fed into the loader inthe usual manner, either from the top or from the bottom, depending uponwhether they are being loaded into or out of the truck, and are conveyedthrough the chute from the supply area toward the discharge area on thebelt 17 while being confined thereon from the sides by the sidewalls ofthe chute. During such conveying, the turkeys are urged downwardly intositting positions on the conveyor belt by a second belt supported on thechute with a lower run generally parallel to the conveyor belt to form amoving ceiling for the chute, and spaced from the conveyor belt adistance less than the standing height of the turkeys to be loaded.Moreover, the belts converge at the entry end to receive birdshead-first in standing positions and then urge them into sittingpositions, and the upper or hold-down belt is driven at a speed slightlyfaster than the speed of the lower belt to keep the birds off balance ifthey attempt to stand up. In the sitting position, the birds arepractically helpless and loose the inclination to struggle.

While the loader may take different forms, the chute 13 herein is formedby two elongated trough-like pieces 21 and 22 (FIG. 4) of U-shapedcross-section fitted together to form a passage of generally rectangularcrosssection. The lower trough 21 opens upwardly and has itslongitudinal edges rolled or bent outwardly to form longitudinal ribs23, herein of rectangular section, extending the full length of thechute. The upper trough 22 also is of U-shaped cross-section and. isinverted and fitted downwardly into the lower trough with a closesliding fit.

The chute 13 is supported on the frame 14 by means of an elongatedcradle formed by a pair of laterally spaced pipes 24 disposed alongopposite sides of the chute, generally below the ribs 23. These pipesare fastened to plates 25 on the lower section 21 at the front ordischarge end of the chute and to skids 27 on the rear or entry end thusmounting the lower section of the chute on the cradle. The upper sectionof the chute, that is, the inverted trough 22, is mounted on theunderside of an elongated framework indicated generally at 28 andextending along the full length of the chute with its ends suspendedfrom supports 29 and 30. The rear support 30 is a -U-shaped piece havingupright legs 31 projecting upwardly from the cradle pipes 24 andconnected across their upper ends, by a crosbar, each leg having abracket 32 adjacent its upper end formed with a set of vertically spacedholes. The rear end portion of the chute framework 28 is supported onthese brackets by means of a mounting bar 33 extending through alignedholes in the bracket and a sleeve 36 (FIG. 2) fast on the top of theframework. There are two front supports 29 upstanding from thelongitudinal ribs 23 on opposite sides of the lower trough 21. On thefront of each of these pieces is a bracket similar to the brackets 32and having a series of vertically spaced holes receiving a mounting bar37 which extends through alined holes in the brackets and in anothersleeve (not shown) on the framework. Thus, the upper trough is supportedon the cradle bars 29 and the lower chute section 21 for selectiveadjustment toward and away from the lower trough simply by moving thebars 33 and 37 to different sets of holes in the brackets 32 and 35. Itwill be seen that this varies the height of the delivery passage formedbetween the troughs. For example, the height may be variable between 12and 18 inches, and is set for a height less than the standing height ofthe birds and preferably only slightly more than the average sittingheight.

Herein, the framework 28 is formed by a long strip 38 of sheet metalslightly wider than the width of the holddown belt 20 and havingdown-turned edges forming flanges 34, the strip being braced by a pairof angle-iron bars 39 fastened to the top wall 40 of the upper chutesection 22 and secured to the strip 38 by a Zigzag series of tie rods 41on each side. The strip 38 thus is spaced above the chute and covers thereturn run of the holddown belt 20 to protect it from the weather.

To support the conveyor belt 17 on the chute 13, the pulleys 18 and 19are rotatably supported on the lower section 21 at the ends of the chuteto guide the upper run of this belt onto and along the bottom wall 41.Two similar pulleys 42 are journaled adjacent the ends of the framework28 to support the belt 20 with its lower run extending along the topwall 40, each pulley being formed with coaxial shafts 44 projecting fromits ends and journaled in bearings 45. A third pulley 47 for theholddown belt is journaled on the upper section at a point spacedrearwardly from and somewhat above the level of the lower pulley 42thereby to guide the upper belt into the lower end of the chute along adownwardly and forwardly inclined path converging toward the lower beltat the receiving end of the chute. To cooperate with the convergingsection 46 of the upper belt in guiding turkeys into the chute, thesidewalls of the upper section 22 are flared away from each other at 48(see FIG. 2)

thereby forming a generally funnel-shaped entry into the chutepreferably with rolled edges 49 eliminating sharp surfaces at the entry.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 5, the return runs of the two belts. aretrained around drive rollers 49 and 50 and idler rollers 51 which guideeach belt through a generally Z-shaped curve and hold the belts incontact with the drive rollers for more than 180 degrees of theirperiphery for good frictional driving engagement. The two drivingrollers are journaled between a pair of plates 52, 52? and are rotatedclockwise as viewed in FIG. 5 to advance the active runs of the twobelts upwardly through the chute. For this purpose, a drive motor '53 isslung on a platform 54 beneath the chute 13 and drives a chain 55trained around a sprocket 57 on the shaft of the lower drive roller 49,and a sprocket 58 on the opposite end of the roller 49 drives a chain 59extending around a sprocket 60 rotating with a coaxial sprocket 61driving a chain 62. This chain, in turn, rotates a sprocket 63 fast onthe shaft of the upper drive roller 50 and turns the latter in timedrelation with the lower roller. An idler 64 is journaled on the free endof a lever 65 (FIG. 1) and is spring-urged against one run of the chain59 to accommodate relative motion between the upper and lower chutesections 21 and 22.

As previously indicated, the upper belt 20 is driven at a speed somewhatfaster than the speed of the lower belt torock the turkeys forwardly ifthey attempt to stand while they are disposed between the belts. Thismaintains the birds off-balance if they rise out of the sitting positionand thus encourages them to remain sitting. It has been found that thebirds quickly settle down to ride quietly up the chute under thesecircumstances. The increase in speed of the upper belt preferably isproduced simply by selecting the ratios of the various sprockets 58,60,61 and '63 to step-up the speed of the upper drive roller 50 to aslight extent.

Preferably, the chute 13 is divided longitudinally into two laterallyspaced, parallel passages of substantially equal size for conveying tworows of turkeys simultaneously from the receiving end to the dischargeend. With this arrangement, two horizontally adjacent cages 12 on thetruck 11 can be loaded at the same time, thereby cutting the timenecessary to load the truck approximately in half. In this instance, thetwo passages are separated by a divider 67 in the form of an elongatedflat metal sheet having a tin 68 at its lower end projecting outwardlythrough and beyond the flared end of the chute to separate turkeys intotwo rows as they enter the chute, the upper edge 69 of the fin beinginclined to follow the converging portion 46 of the belt 20. At itsupper end, the divider projects beyond the upper end of the chute tomaintain the turkeys separated as they are guided from the loader intothe cages. A flange 70 (FIGS. 2 and 4) is attached to the upper edge ofthe divider to provide a relatively wide surface for engagement with theupper run of the holddown belt, avoiding wearing contact between thebelt and the possibly sharp upper edge of the divider.

Herein, the divider 67 is supported adjacent its upper end by means of abracket 71 (FIG. 3) suspending it from the upper framework 28, and issupported at its lower end by means of a similar connection 72 betweenthe lower end of the framework 28 and the upwardly flared, fin portion68 at the lower end of the divider. Thus, the divider is movable up anddown with the upper framework and the hold-down belt during adjustmentin the height of the delivery passages in the chute. It will beappreciated that it is desirable to avoid obstructions within the chutewhich might catch, bruise or otherwise injure turkeys moving up thechute.

At the discharge end of the chute 13, the conveyor belt 17 is guidedoutwardly beyond the supporting roller 19 and around a pulley roller 74to form a generally horizontal discharge lip 75 onto which the turkeysmove as they are discharged from the chute. The end pulley 74 isrotatably supported between two parallel plates 77 pivoted on the end ofthe lower trough 21 and projecting forwardly therefrom. Beneath theroller 19 is a second roller 78 over which the return run of theconveyor belt is guided, holding the return run close to the bottom ofthe chute. The shafts of these rollers also are journalled in bearings45.

Projecting forwardly above the discharge lip is an overhead grid 79which is pivoted on the end of the upper framework 28 and fastened tothe lower end of a positioning arm 84). The upper end of this arm isformed with a hole through which the shank 81 of a hand crank extends,the shank being threaded into a nut 82 on a bar 83 pivotally connectedto one of the supports 29. Turning of the crank rocks the arm back andforth to adjust the angular position of the grid.

In the present instance, the frame of the loader cornprises a chassishaving a front axle 84 with wheels 85 at its opposite ends, a pair oflaterally spaced frame bars 87 and 88 extending rearwardly from theopposite ends of the axle and joined together beneath the lower end ofthe chute by a crossbar 89, and a steerable wheel assembly 90 on therear end of the chassis. The opposite ends of the crossbar 89 projectoutwardly through a pair triangular plates 91 welded at their upper endsto the chute and depending from the opposite sides of the latter to forma pivot about which the chute rocks upwardly or downwardly to adjust thelevel of the discharge end thereof. Herein, the front or upper endportion of the chute is disposed between two parallel posts 92projecting upwardly from the axle 84 near the ends thereof andconnnected across their upper ends by a crossbar. Two cables 93 arefastened at their upper ends to hooks 94 near the ends of these posts,and extend downwardly to a pair of drums 95 rotatably mounted adjacentthe sides of the chute. By winding or unwinding the cables in unison,the discharge end of the chute may be raised and lowered to preciselythe level desired. A reversible electric motor 97 is slung beneath thefront end of the chute and is selectively operable by controls on apanel 98 (FIG. 1) to turn the drums through a reduction gearing at 99 toraise or lower the chute, as desired. Power preferably is supplied by aportable electric generator (not shown).

The other end of the chute 13 is raised and lowered by means of a crankmechanism 160 which adjusts the position of the rear wheel 161 relativeto the chute. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wheel is journaled on thelower end of a vertical post 192 disposed along the side of the chuteand extending slidably through a vertical sleeve 103 rigidly supportedon the chassis by means of struts 164.. The crank 1tl5 is geared at 187(FIG. 2) to a reel 108 on which a cable 109 is wound, and this cableextends upwardly from the reel and over a pulley 110 journaled betweentwo lugs 111 on top of the post 102. After turning 180 degrees aroundthis pulley, the cable extends downwardly to an anchor 112 also fast onthe sleeve 93. With this arrangement, winding of the cable onto the reelraises the sleeve along the post or, in other words, forces the post andthe wheel down- Wardly through the sleeve to raise the lower end of thechute. A handle 113 is secured to the axle of the wheel 161 to permitmanual steering of the wheel and thereby facilitate manipulation of therear end of the loader. Under ordinary circumstances, however, the rearend of the loader should rest on the ground or on a protective board(not shown) during loading of turkeys. The crank mechanism is used toraise the loader for attachment to a tow truck.

Although it is possible to discharge the turkeys directly from the chute13 into a cage 12 to be filled, the present loader is designed todeliver the turkeys to the discharge lip 75 from which they are guidedmanually into the cages being loaded. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, aplatform 114, with guard rails 115 at its ends, is disposed beneath thedischarge end of the chute and projects laterally to each side of thechute far enough to permit an operator to stand on each side. Theplatform itself preferably is a metal grid with two laterally spacedsleeves 117 projecting upwardly from the bar forming its rear edge, thesleeves telescoping over two rods 118 which are pinned to the sleeves.Just below their upper ends, these rods are pivoted on the ends of thecradle pipes 24 to rock about a horizontal transverse axis indicated at119. The upper ends of the rods 118 are joined to the guard rails whichextend outwardly and then bend downwardly to the front edge of the platform. The two operators thus can stand on the platform on opposite sidesof the discharge lip and manually transfer turkeys from the chute intothe cages.

To maintain the platform generally horizontal in all angular positionsof the chute 13, two parallel adjusting levers 129 are pivoted on acrossbar 121 adjacent the front of the cradle and hang downwardly pastthe bar forming the rear edge of the platform 114. Approximately midwaybetween their ends, the adjusting levers are connected to an inclinedlink 122 (FIG. 3) pivoted at 123 on the upper end of an upright lever124 fulcrumed near the center of the chute to rock about an axisparallel to the pivotal axis of the chute. Adjacent its opposite orlower end, this lever is fastened to a cable 125 which extendsrearwardly along the cradle bar 24 to the upper end of an arm 127 faston the frame pipe 88 and projecting upwardly therefrom. A turnbuckle 128is provided for minor adjustments in the effective length of the cable.

With this arrangement, the angle of the platform 114 with the chute 13is adjusted automatically in response to changes in the chute angle tomaintain the platform horizontal at all levels of the discharge end. Asthe chute is raised, the pivot of the lever 124 moves closer to theupper end of the arm 127 so that its lower end is permitted to swing tothe right while the adjusting levers 129 and the platform 114 turnclockwise to maintain the platform in its horizontal position. As thechute is lowered, the cable 125, anchored to the arm 127, pulls to theleft on the lever 124 to turn the latter clockwise and rock theadjusting levers and the platform back.

In effect, the linkage tilts the platform equally in the oppositedirection as the chute tilts in each direction. The plates 77suppporting the roller 74 are connected to the platform for automaticleveling of the discharge lip 75 along with the platform.

To facilitate the positioning of the chute beside a truck 11 to beloaded, a reversible electric motor 129 is provided for propelling theloader 10 selectively in either direction. As shown most clearly in FIG.3, this motor is supported between the longitudinal pipes 87 and 88 ofthe chassis and is drivingly coupled to the differential 139 of the axle84 by a drive shaft 131 and a clutch 132. The latter is of the type thatcan be disengaged manually to uncouple the motor, for example, when theloader is to be towed over the road. The controls for this motor alsoare on the panel 98 near the operator on the platform 114.. The tractionmotor 129 is most useful for backing the loader away from the truck 11when the latter is to be moved, and then bringing it back to theoperative position close to the truck in its new position.

Preparatory to beginning a loading operation, a system of fences andpens (not shown) is arranged around the end of the chute to facilitatethe confining of turkeys at the chute and the crowding of the turkeysinto the two separated passages. The loader 10 is positioned at theproper level for entry of turkeys into the chute, and the truck to beloaded is parked in front of the loader with the divider plate 67generally aligned with the common wall between two vertical rows ofcages 12. Thus, the two passages of the chute can be aligned with 7, thedoors of two different cages in each tier for simultaneous loading ofthe two cages.

Starting with the discharge end of the chute 13 at either the top or thebottom of the rows, and with the position of the upper framework 28relative to the brackets 37 selected to adjust the height of thepassages to suit the average size of the birds in the flock beinghandled, turkeys from the pens are forced one by one and head first intoeach of the chute passages to be carried upwardly through the chute tothe truck. The converging section 46 of the hold-down belt 20 over thelower end portion of the conveyor belt 17 cooperates with the flaredsidewalls 43 of the upper trough 22 in guiding each turkey into a chutepassage while urging the turkey gently but firmly into a sittingposition. With the holddown belt moving slightly faster than theconveyor and disposed closely adjacent the back of the sitting turkey,any attempt by the turkey to stand brings him against the upper beltwhich tilts him forward and off balance,

and thus back into the sitting position. Confined in this manner, theturkey almost immediately stops struggling and settles calmly into thesitting position for the duration of the ride.

At the discharge end, each turkey moves across the horizontal lip 75,still in the sitting position so that it is a simple matter to guide orpush the turkey into the cage 12, often without even loss of itsmomentum. It will be seen that the grid 79 etfectively covers the pathsof the birds so that they cannot jump or fly away from the dischargelip.

When the desired number of turkeys has been counted into each cage,preferably by the workers controlling the entry of birds at thereceiving end of the chute, the cage doors are closed and the chute ismoved vertically to the next pair of cages in the two vertical rowsbeing filled. For this purpose, the operator nearest the control panel98 simply pushes the appropriate button. to run the motor 97 and eitherwind up or unwind the cables 93 on or from the drums 95. As the inclineof the chute changes, the angle of the platform relative to the chute isautomatically adjusted by the linkage 120-127 to maintain the platformhorizontal. This also corrects the angle of the lip 75 by turning theplates 77 with the platform. It may also be necessary, or at leastdesirable, to move the loader away from the truck and then back with thetraction motor 129 for free movement of the chute and to maintainoptimum spacing of the discharge lip from the truck.

A transfer board 133 supported on rods 134 projecting forwardly frombeneath the plates 77 provides a discharge platform beyond the dischargelip of the conveyor belt and preferably is substantially longer than thewidth of the belt to facilitate the movement of the turkeys into thecages. This board should be composed of lightweight,

easily breakable plywood to avoid damage to the truck or the loader ifthe two come together by accident.

When all the cages in the two rows have been filled, the truck is eitherpulled ahead or backed up to aline the next two rows with the chute 13.The loader may be backed away from the truck prior to moving of thelatter and then moved close to the truck in its new posi- 8 tion. Ofcourse, unloading of the cages is accomplished in the same general way,the turkeys being loaded into the upper end and conveyed reversely tothe lower end.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of loading turkeys and the like from a supply area to adischarge area comprising the steps of, confining a group of turkeys atsaid supply area and separating the turkeys one by one at a supplypoint, conveying the separated turkeys forwardly one by one toward saiddischarge area at a first predetermined rate while confining the turkeysfrom the sides to a preselected path, urging each of said turkeysdownwardly during such conveying into a sitting position, urging anyturkey that attempts to stand during such conveying forwardly from aboveat a second predetermined rate greater than said first rate thereby tomaintain such turkey otf-balance in other than the sitting position andkeep all the turkeys substantially at rest during such conveying, anddischarging successive turkeys at said discharge area.

2. The method of loading turkeys and the like from a supply area into avehicle having a plurality of vertically spaced tiers of compartmentswith a chute having a conveyor therein and an overhead belt generallyparallel to said conveyor and spaced therefrom a distance less than thestanding height of the turkeys to be loaded, said method comprising thesteps, of, positioning said chute beside said vehicle with one end ofthe chute adjacent the ground and the other end alined with one of saidcompartments, confining a group of turkeys around said one end andfeeding successive turkeys into said chute and onto said conveyor,advancing said conveyor at a first predetermined rate to carry theturkeys through the chute toward said vehicle, advancing said belt at asecond predetermined rate faster than said first rate thereby to urgeeach turkey forwardly and into a sitting position if it attempts tostand on said conveyor, stopping feeding of turkeys into said onecompartment after a preselected number have been discharged thereto, andrepeating the aforesaid steps for the remaining compartments of saidvehicle.

3. The method of loading turkeys and the like as defined in claim 2including feeding turkeys into said chute onto said conveyor in twoside-by-side rows, maintaining said rows separated on said conveyor, anddischarging turkeys from said rows simultaneously into two side-bysidecompartments of said vehicle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 216,126 6/ 1879 Ainsworth 198-465614,392 11/1898 Jacobs 198--165 676,654 6/1901 Francoeur 198l221,303,013 5/1919 Brainbridge 198-465 1,502,776 6/1924 Holser 1982332,840,041 6/ 1958 Fleming 1l982 3,103,915 9/1963 Crain et al. 119-823,110,388 11/1963 Elliott et a1. 11982 X 3,272,182 9/1966 Lund 11982ALDRICH F. MEDBERY, Primary Examiner.

